A systematic study of magnetic braking in low-mass binaries

A short summary is given of Rappaport et al. (1983) which described results of extending a simplified stellar evolution code covering the evolution of low-mass compact binaries. Magnetic braking is probably an important process in the evolution of such binaries (such as cataclysmic variables and low-mass X-ray sources). The initial simplified code describes the mass-losing star as an n = 3/2 polytrope and was developed to study the evolution of binaries with a secondary of low mass (between 0.01 and 0.4 solar mass) when the angular momentum losses are due to gravitational radiation. In the extended code, a composite polytrope model is used for the secondary, wherein the structure of the radiative core is described by an n = 3 polytrope and the convective envelope by an n = 3/2 polytrope.